I am a professional video game artist specializing in hard surface modeling and PBR texturing. I started making armor models a few years ago and have been trying since to translate my digital skills to paint and plastic, which isn't always easy. My specialty is German Armor in 1/35.

I am so pleased to have seen this informative review on this latest Dragon offering. Having always been deeply interested in WWII German armour and the development of the Tigers and Panthers this kit of the Panther prototype was on my "To Get" list. Not anymore. Having already easily accumulated far more kits than I can reasonably expect to build in my lifetime (what suckers we are...) I am at that point where I look back and wonder in abject amazement at the FREAKIN' CRAZY prices that companies like Dragon now insist upon, and to see a kit that would easily cost north of a $100 (CDN) for a reissue of 14-year old parts with feeble updates and necessary plastic surgery simply to fix what Dragon was too cheap and lazy to fix IS SIMPLY TOO MUCH! I, for one, won't buy a whole bunch more from any company that insults us by issuing four-plus versions of everything and then sliding a piece of questionable...stuff, past us like this kit, and others like it, for simply unsustainable prices. Who out there has that money to waste and when was the last time you saw a 14-year old modeler who could afford these prices?

The low parts count can be easily explained- DRAGON has dispensed with "Magic Tracks", in lieu of the greatly detested "DS" Tracks- What was so "magical" about "Magic Tracks, anyway? They are "fiddly" to assemble, and great care must be taken with them, during and after assembly. I much prefer resin or metal Tracks for my German WWII vehicles. What would make sense, (to me, anyway), is if there were some way to manufacture "clickable" plastic tracks, or really convincing "link-and-length" Tracks- The technology exists to do so.
If you will kindly notice, obviously the "high parts count" of many tracked-vehicle kits, (other than DRAGON's), is due to the inclusion of individual Track Links, not because of anything special, otherwise. Even certain AFV kits which include the extra parts for "interiors", will have an even greater number of parts because of the inclusion of "indy" Track Links, which is a GOOD thing...

How does this kit vary from the other Dragon Panther proto-type, DRA-6830? Hopefully Dragon learned from the let-downs on this kit when they issued the latter. Anyone care to share any insights on this?